The winter market is usually a time for managers to add vital players to their squads due to injuries or bad form, but it is also a good time to dip into the market for young prospects.

This January window was largely quiet, at least compared to the fireworks of the 2011 window, but a few interesting moves went through before the deadline.

Here is a rundown of five of the best young players to have moved to a top club during the winter transfer market...

Wilfried Zaha

The ex-Crystal Palace player can play on the wing or as a striker, and recently made his international debut with England in November against Sweden coming on as a substitute, all due to his good form with the Eagles.

The tricky winger caught the attention of plenty of top Premier League clubs but ultimately Manchester United were the team to shell out something in the region of £15m.

Zaha remains at Palace though - for the time being at least. It was essential for the Championship club that the player stayed with the club on loan for the remainder of the season to help in their bid for promotion to the Premier League.

Jan Kirchhoff

Kirchhoff is a promising young German centre-back who is a regular with the U-21 side. He is a tall defender and is very strong in the air.

He has three goals in 17 matches for the German U21 side and in January he agreed to join Bayern Munich for free in the summer when his current contract runs out. For the time being the 22-year-old will play the remainder of the season with his current team FSV Mainz 05.

Josip Radosevic

Radosevic dubbed the new ‘Gennaro Gattuso’ made his international debut for Croatia in their World Cup 2014 qualifier against Belgium in September. The 18-year-old midfielder had been linked with a move to Real Madrid but finally opted for a switch to the ‘Serie A’ - signing a five-year contract with Napoli.

Oliveira Wallace

Wallace is an exciting 18-year-old attacking Brazilian right-back. He made his senior debut at the age of 17 going on to make 18 appearances and helping Fluminense to the Brazilian League Championship in 2012.

Wallace also formed part of the Brazil squad that won the South American U17 Championship in 2011. Chelsea paid around £5m for the U20 international and loaned him back to Fluminense for the rest of the season.

Mateo Kovacic

The second Croatian on the list - this 18-years-old is a gifted midfielder who like his compatriot made a switch to the ‘Serie A’, moving from Dinamo Zagreb to Inter Milan for a fee in the range of €11m.

He has been handed the number ten shirt - a show of faith placed. He made his debut for Dinamo Zagreb in 2010 scoring a goal that made him the youngest goalscorer in the history of the league at 16 and 198 days old. Kovacic has Champions League experience playing against the likes of Real Madrid, PSG, Porto and scored against Lyon.

Carlos Casemiro

Last on the list is Casemiro, a defensive midfielder who made his debut for Brazil in September against Argentina. Although he initially signed on loan for Real Madrid’s B team, Castilla, the deal involved an option for Madrid to sign him on a permanent deal. He was registered to be eligible in the Champions League for Jose Mourinho’s team and Casemiro aims to work his way to the senior team.

DISCLAIMER: This article has been written by a member of the GiveMeFootball Writing Academy and does not represent the views of GiveMeFootball.com or SportsNewMedia. The views and opinions expressed are solely that of the author credited at the top of this article. GiveMeFootball.com and SportsNewMedia do not take any responsibility for the content of its contributor

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DISCLAIMER

This article has been written by a member of the GiveMeSport Writing Academy and does not represent the views of
GiveMeSport.com or SportsNewMedia. The views and opinions expressed are solely that of the author credited at the top of this article.
GiveMeSport.com and SportsNewMedia do not take any responsibility for the content of its contributors.

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